Many students at Universities or Colleges rely on friends, rideshare services, or campus transportation to get around. While services like Uber and Lyft exist, they are not always practical for short trips around campus or nearby areas.
For example, a student might need a ride from their dorm to an academic building, a nearby apartment, or a grocery store. In situations like this, requesting a full rideshare service often feels unnecessary or expensive.
GusLift started as an idea to solve this problem by creating a campus-focused ride-sharing platform designed specifically for students.
The goal is simple: Make it easier for students to connect with others who are already driving somewhere nearby, while keeping the platform limited to trusted users within the college community.
The Idea Behind GusLift
Unlike traditional ride-sharing apps that are open to anyone, GusLift is designed to be restricted to verified users from the campus community.
This approach helps create a safer and more trusted environment where students know they are interacting with other members of their school community.
Instead of requesting rides from strangers, users can connect with other students who are already heading in the same direction.
The long-term goal is to create a small, efficient transportation network within the campus ecosystem.
Early concept for the GusLift interface.
What We Built So Far
This week, we focused on setting up the authentication system for the application.
Authentication is an important part of GusLift because the platform needs to ensure that only approved users can access the app.
To accomplish this, we implemented Google Sign-In.
This allows users to log into the application using their Google accounts instead of creating new usernames and passwords. Using Google authentication simplifies the login process while also providing a reliable identity verification system.
Google authentication is used to verify users during login.
Keeping Users Logged In
After implementing login functionality, the next step was making sure users do not have to sign in every time they open the app.
To solve this, we implemented Async Storage, which allows the application to store small pieces of data directly on the user's device.
Once a user logs in successfully, their session information is saved locally. This allows the app to recognize returning users and automatically keep them signed in.
Currently, user sessions are stored for seven days, after which the user will be asked to authenticate again.
await AsyncStorage.setItem(
"@user",
JSON.stringify({ ...data, savedAt: Date.now() })
);
This approach improves usability while still maintaining basic security.
Technologies Used
The current version of GusLift is being built using the following tools:
- React Native (Expo) for cross-platform mobile development
- Google Authentication for user login
- Async Storage for storing session information locally
These tools allow us to rapidly prototype features while maintaining flexibility for future expansion.
What Comes Next
In the coming weeks, we plan to continue expanding the foundation of the app.
Some of the next steps include:
- Improving how user sessions are handled within the application
- Expanding support across multiple platforms
- Beginning development of the core ride-sharing functionality
One of the long-term goals for the project is to make GusLift available across iOS, Android, and web platforms, allowing users to access the system from different devices.
Final Thoughts
GusLift is still in the early stages of development, but the core authentication system now provides a starting point for building the rest of the platform.
As development continues, the focus will shift toward building the features that actually enable users to request and offer rides.
Future posts will document the progress of the project as we continue building and testing new components of the system.
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